


I'll Save You

by trashikawa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Sex, Anal, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, BDSM, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Biting, Bonding, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Foreplay, Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, IM SORRY BUT LANCE GETS RAPED, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Inspired by Art, It's from lance's point of view, Keith bottoms, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Langst, Lingerie, M/M, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Smut, My First Work in This Fandom, Nipple Play, Pining Lance (Voltron), Porn With Plot, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Read at Your Own Risk, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sex Toys, Sexual Content, Smut, THE ENDING IS REALLY HAPPY I SWEAR PLEASE READ, THIS FIC IS FUCKING EVERYWHERE IM SO SORRY, Vibrators, Xenophilia, bottom!Keith, death is near, dominant lance, i love klance too much but i regret nothing, i tried i really did, im gonna apologize in advance, im sorry, keith needs to rescue lance, klance, klangst, lance is depressed, lance is lost, lance lost all hope, lance tops, pinning, so much fluff and angst, submissive keith, top!lance, trigger - Freeform, triggering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-10-27 15:26:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10811754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashikawa/pseuds/trashikawa
Summary: No. No. No.This can't be happening.What happened to me?Where am I?Where is everyone?Why am I alone?I open my eyes and immediately begin to freak out.  The last thing I remember is everyone falling out of the wormhole. My breath gets unsteady and I feel a panic attack coming to me. No, I can't. Not right now. I need to contact the others."Hello? Anyone? This is Lance."There was just silence."Is anyone there? Can anyone here me?"There was no reply. I let out a heavy, shaky sigh.





	1. This is Real

_What happened to me?_

_Where am I?_

_Where is everyone?_

**_Why am I alone?_ **

 

My eyes shoot open and my chest heaves with rapid and unsteady breaths. I don't know how long I've been out for. The last thing I remember is falling out of the wormhole that Haggar corrupted. I need to contact the others. "Hello? Anyone? This is Lance."

"Hello? This is Lance. Is anyone there?"

There was just silence.

"Can anyone hear me?"

There was no reply. I let out a shaky sigh. I take a moment to calm down and steady my breathing. I began to talk to Blue

_Blue? Are you okay?_

I can't feel her presence. Now I'm really worried. I get out of the pilot seat, stumbling at the unnatural position that we had landed in, and begin to find the damage that my lion had taken. I walk around, checking every compartment, making sure to find every little thing that is wrong. The damage she had taken from the fall is devastating. We seemed to have crashed in a forest of some sort and the trees damaged her armor badly. Her interior is worse. The corruption from the wormhole must have also corrupted the Lions because her damage is catastrophic. I don't even know where to begin. I am not capable to fix this giant, magical space cat when I barely know how to work anything in the castle's kitchen! Hell, if Keith never got kicked out of the Garrison, I would still be a Cargo Pilot! This is all my fault. If only I had stayed conscious, I could have landed her safely and she would be okay. 

_I'm so sorry Blue. I'll find help. I promise._

I can't just sit around here and wait for one of the others to find me. I need to find help by myself. I grab some supplies and step out of Blue. I'm going to find help. I'm going to save my lion. This planet must be inhabited by some species that could help me. It has to be. Once I step out into the area, I noticed the tall trees that have been knocked down from the fall. I turn around to face see even more, but I also spot the end of the forest. _I guess I'll start making my way there._  Few minutes pass until I am finally met with an open area covered in sand. I look up ahead and I can make out the small waves of water. My heart starts racing. _This is a beach._ I step onto the sand and make my way to the shore. It looks like the beaches on Earth except the water is more of a lilac color and the sand is red rather than blonde and brown. This reminds me of the Varadero Beach. It's beautiful there. My siblings and I would go there every day on summer break and just spend the entire day there. My friends and I would sneak out in the middle of the night only to get caught by my mother every time. I didn't realize I was crying until I tasted salt on my lips. God, I want to go home. I love being in space and being a paladin. I love all the places we've saved. I love my friends. _Keith crossed my mind for a second._ Although there is so much to love, I would die just to go home. Tell my family I'm okay. Give them all the biggest hug and tell them I love them a million times. I wish that day would just come already. I sit down on the sand just out of the tides reach. Readings from my helmet show that the atmosphere is very similar to earth's, so I take off my helmet and breath in the fresh air. The smell of lavender fills the air. This place is absolutely beautiful. As much as I wish I could sit here all day, I need to find help. 

I walk all along the shore until I have searched every corner of the beach. Nothing. Not even a sign of life was found. I cant give up now. I make my way into the forest and begin my search again. I walk for what seems like days but in reality is just a few hours. I can't find anyone. All it is is just trees as far as the eye could see. No homes of any kind anywhere. How could this planet not have any civilians? After about another hour of searching, I set of mountains. There seems to be a trail made going up one of them. _There has to be someone there. That trail is not natural. It was definitely man-made._  I look up and am able to see an opening up high on the mountain. I use my jetpack to fly up there. Once I reach it, I come across a cave. It seems to be used for mining as there was a railroad track leading in. There has to be someone in there. I walk in with the hope that someone could help Blue. 

I've been walking in this cave for about 30 minutes now and I haven't had any luck. I'm almost sure it is abandoned as there was random equipment laid out everywhere and looked like they haven't been touched in ages laying around everywhere. Actually, it looks like whoever was here, left in a hurry, As if, they just threw down what they had _and ran_. I'm pretty far into the cave and I was sitting down taking a break when suddenly, something just wasn't right. I don't know, just the vibe of the place changed all of a sudden and something about it just screamed 'Get Out.' I jumped up so fast, I almost hit my head on the rocks above me. Once I just started walking to leave, I knew why I had that feeling. The place started rumbling and rocks started falling. The place is collapsing. Panic sets in and I run at full speed out of the place. As I was running, I tripped on a piece of debris and face planted the ground. Before I had a chance to get up, a large rock fell on the calf of my left leg. I could feel my bone crack and a surge of pain engulfs me. **_Fuck._**  The pain was intense. I stayed on the ground for a moment, rocks barely missing me, and debating whether or not I wanted to get up or not. I was in so much pain, but I had to keep going. Tears fall from my eyes as I get up and try my hardest to get out before the place comes down compeletly. I try my best to ignore the pain as I get up and try to rush out of there. A few moments later, the rumbling stopped and everything was still. Was that like an earthquake or something? I stop walking and sit down. I look at my leg to see the damage. I couldn't see anything poking out through my suit, but the slightest touch made me curl up in pain. _Just my luck._ I need to get out of this cave. I need to go to Blue. Despite the pain, I get up once more and make my way out of the cave.

"No. No, no, no, no, no." This earthquake...it made so many rocks fall, that it a wall of rocks now blocked the path. This can't be happening. I dig rocks away but was met with an unmovable rock behind the wall of small ones. I collapse to the ground. Is this how I die? Alone in a cave? Never to be found by the other paladins? Never to see my family again? This can't be true. Please, don't let this be true. A panic attack completely engulfs me. I begin shaking and crying. My mind is no help to me. My body doesn't want to move. I clench my stomach as I realize I need to vomit. I turn to the side and in the corner, I puke out all of the fluids in my stomach until my body stops. Tears still block my vision. My head starts spinning and spinning. Black spots appear in my eye sight. More and more pain keeps coming to me until I couldn't take it anymore and pass out.

 

* * *

 

_You know you're worthless, Lance._

  _ **Lance!**_

_Terrible Pilot_

_**Don't listen to them Lance!**  
_

_Obnoxious, loud, annoying_

**_Wake up!_ **

_Keith is better than you_

**_LANCE, I NEED YOUR HELP!_ **

 

I wake up suddenly. "KEITH!" 

My eyes focus and they dart around trying to find the source of that melodic voice. I don't see him. What if he's in trouble? I need to help him! The memories before I passed out come back to me. Oh yeah, it's not like I can do anything anyways. I'm still stuck in this cave. I need to get out. No matter how hurt I am, I need to find Keith and the others. I don't know how long I was out. It could've been days, weeks, even months for all I know. I slowly get up and start walking away from the wall of rocks. I activate my shield and use it to keep pressure off my leg while I walk. I walk for what seems like forever until I find a spot in the cave that has a small opening in it. Light seeps through it. This could be my ticket out of this place. I see an ax lying not far away. I go and pick it up and then begin to dig. I make a hole big enough so that I can slip through to the other side. Sure enough, I was able to escape. I don't know where I am though. All I know is that I'm still on the mountain. I need to get back to Blue. I need to see if she's okay. I jetpack back down to the forest and I start looking for Blue. After a long time of aimlessly walking in the forest, I finally reached the beach I first was at. I find the trail of knocked down trees, but there was no lion. What? Where is she? She was completely out of commission. She couldn't have left. Then, where did she go? My thoughts were interrupted when I felt pain erupt in my right leg. My eyes go wide as I look down. All I see if the end of an arrow that had been shot in the back of my knee and deep red blood spewing out from the wound. _What the fuck is happening?_   With both legs injured, I have no choice but to flop down to the ground. I pull out my bayard as I needed the protection. Another arrow shot at me but missed. I shot my gun in the same direction in hopes that I hit something. There is obviously more then one enemy as more arrows filled the air. Another arrow pierced my arm. I wince in pain, but I keep shooting. I didn't stop fighting until two arrows hit my back at the same time. Both hit my lower back but only one went through me completely. That's it. I'm done. I can't fight anymore. God, it hurts so much. I put down my weapon and raise my hand of the uninjured side up in the air in defeat. I'm clearly out numbered. There was no way I would've survived that. I don't even know if I'll survive in my current condition. From out of the shadows, 5 figures appeared. They begin to walk towards me. As they come closer, I see the features of all of them clearly. They all seem to be wearing the same uniform. The two on the right both have light purple skin. One has short blueish hair and the other has a hood on with a cat on her shoulder. The two on the left are a little different. One is very tall and muscular with big ears. The other is a pinkish color with a long colorful tail on her head. The one in the middle was very different than the ladies around him. First off he was a male. He had long white hair with light purple skin, yellow ears with purple pupils. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what they are. I immediately pick back up my weapon and aim it at them. The male laughs at me.

"My, my. Aren't you a feisty one." 

"You're Galra. I have every right to destroy you right now!"

"I don't think you would want to do that" as he says that rustling comes from the forest as a whole army of small blue aliens aims their arrows at me. The lady galras also aim weapons at me. "because it seems to me that you're out numbered."

I look around nervously. There are too many of them to take on on my own. Not in the state I'm in. I let out a sigh. He's right. I put down my weapon. 

"Good boy." He smiled at me. "Get him." The tall galra comes to me. She takes out handcuffs and cuffs my hands around my back. I hissed in pain from her harshness. The male Galra turned around and started to walk away.

"Who are you?" I ask.

He looks back at me, "Well, Blue Paladin, since we will be spending plenty of time together, I guess it **is** only fair that you know my name." He steps near me and puts his hand under my chin and forces my face up to meet his. "I am Prince Lotor. Remember that name, pretty boy." With that, he looked at all the ladies and said, "Take him with us. Do what you need to do." 

 _Do what you need to do_? They all nodded and the one behind me lifted me up harshly and forced me to walk. I buckled back down to the ground and whinced in compete pain. The Galra lifts me up and pushes the arrow in my stomach farther so it comes out the front of me. I can't take it anymore. I get light headed. I'm gonna die, aren't I? 

 

* * *

 

 

_I'm sitting alone in a wide open field on the end of a cliff. The wind blowing ever flower in the same direction. The moon illuminates the night. The lack of artificial lighting allows the sky to be filled with bright stars. The sound of water hitting shore surrounding me. I look over the cliff to see the beach I have been so used to seeing.  It was the one next to my home. I let my eyes wonder a bit to the right and I am met with my house. The spot where I'm sitting holds a special place in my heart. I would go to this cliff all the time when I was feeling sad or lonely. I would look up into the sky and find all the constellations. That's what got me interested in space. That's the reason I went to the Garrison._

_"You know, its better to enjoy a view like this with someone else."_

_I turn my head around and I am met with dark purple eyes staring back at me. It's Keith._

_"Yeah, I guess your right." I focus my attention back to the night sky._

_Keith comes and sits next to me. One knee propped up while the other lays flat on the ground and slightly over the cliff. The wind blows his hair back and I feel heat rise a little to my cheeks._

_"You know it's not nice to stare." Keith says as he keeps his eyes up to the sky._

_Redness erupts in Keith's face as well and more in mine. "Sorry. I didn't mean to." I say._

_Keith laughs slightly. "I'm just messing with you. Don't need to apologize, Lance."_

_"O-Oh. Okay." We both fix our attention back to the stars._

_We both didn't say a word. The silence wasn't awkward at all. It was soothing and welcoming. We didn't need to talk to appreciate each other's company. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt weight on my shoulder. I look to my left and I'm met with a mess of black hair. Keith had laid his head on my shoulder. My face once again goes red._

_"Lance."_

_My throat feels so dry. I take a deep breath and swallow the saliva that has built up in my mouth._

_"Yeah, Keith?"_

_"I need your help."_

_I was confused._

_"With what?"_

_"They're coming after me." Keith began to cry. "They're coming."_

_"Who!?"_

_"Lance, I love y-" Before Keith could finished his sentence, a bang was heard and Keith was shot in the head._

_"KEITH!!"_

_Blood splattered everywhere as Keith's lifeless body fell over the edge of the cliff._

 

I wake up, panting hard. I'm covered in a mixture of sweat and tears. 

"Oh my, the Blue Paladin seems to have a thing for the Red Paladin. What a shocking surprise. This is a great piece of information." 

Before I could locate the voice, I notice where I am. I'm strapped to a chair in the middle of a dimly lit room. A screen is placed on the wall in the front of the room. Wires are connected all over me. I no longer feel pain anywhere in my body. Did they heal me? I can move my feet, arm, and back without feeling anything. Why would they do that? I finally look to see Lotor was the one who has spoken. 

"What do you mean?"

"I am able to see what you're seeing in your dream, well more of a nightmare, per say. The way you acted around the Red Paladin. Your heart rate when he touched you. It is completely obvious there something between the two of you." He kept inching he's way closer to me.

"There is nothing between me and Keith!" 

He turned his back towards me, "Hmm, Keith? What a wonderful name." he said with a smirk. "I might need to get to know him some."

Angry builds up inside me, and I instinctually go to attack, only to be stopped by the straps that hold my body down. Lotor just smiles more. We both go silent for a moment.  

"You healed me, didn't you."

Lotor sighed "Listen, Lance, you have information about Voltron and the Paladins that I would find very useful. I will do whatever I must to get the information out of you." He gets face to face with me. "And I indent to do just that. With you already hurt, it would be less fun, so I decided to heal your injuries." I don't like how this is going.

"I will never tell you anything!" I scream at him.

"Then this will be more fun than I thought." He grinned evilly and then walked to a side of the room that I couldn't see because of the lack of light. After a moment, I start to hear foot steps get closer from behind me. He then came to a stop and I feel hands on my neck. I tense up from the sudden contact on my skin. I then feel something that I've never felt before. I thought at first it was a rope of some sort, but then, I heard a click. Lotor walked around the chair and is now facing me, holding a remote in his hand.

"Like I said Lance, I will get what I want. If you misbehave at all, you will be punished. The device on your neck is connected to this remote. If you step out of line, don't do as I say, or don't give me an answer, you will feel an electric shock, but it won't be gentle. I have it up to the highest setting and so, I suggest that you don't misbehave."

I laugh. "You think a measly little shock collar is gonna make me your dog, well think again you piece of sh- AHH!" my sentence was interrupted by an extreme shock that almost made me pass out. 

"This is no dog collar. This is a specially made shock collar that could bring even the toughest Galra to death if used enough." Lotor grabbed my hair and forcefully lifted my head up. "So I suggest, that you don't misbehave, Lance."

My heart beats hard in fear. Lotor moves back into the darkness and erupts again with some items. I'm still dazed from the shock and my eye won't focus on what he has in his hands. "You look awfully uncomfortable in that uniform, Lance. How about you change." Lotor says as he unchains me from the chair.

"Into what?" I asked. Lotor threw what he had in his hands to me. It's clothes. I unfolded them and it was a pair of black shorts and a torn up, oversized, purple t-shirt. Similar to what the prisoners we rescue from galra ships wear. "Okay, well, where can I change?"

"Here." 

"But you're here. I'm not changing in front of you."

"Well I don't care what you think, but if you care about living, I suggest you do as I say."

He's right. I don't have control anymore. If I step out of line just a little, bad things will happen. There's nothing I can do. He unstraps me from the chair and I begin to take my gear off. I slip off the armor on my arms and toss them aside. I then pull the chest plate over my head and put it with the rest. Next I sit on the ground and pull off my shoes along with the gear on my legs. The belt comes off and then I quickly take off the black undersuit and put on the clothes I was given. 

"Good. Now have a seat."

I do as he says and sit down in the chair. "Now, Lance, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you don't give me an answer, or lie... well, I'll just let you wait and see." My heart is racing. I can't let him know anything. I can't let him find out what he needs. I don't care if I'm killed. I'm not going to put my friends in danger! They're too important to be killed. Me on the other hand, they could always find someone better to pilot the blue lion. 

"Before I ask you anything, though, I'm going to move you to another room. I do need to take precautions, though." Lotor unchains me and then pulls handcuffs my hands behind my back. He then takes out a piece of cloth and blindfolds me. "Why do I have to be blindfolded?" 

"Well, if you see where we are going, you might start thinking of a way to escape and we can't have that happening." I then feel him do something with the collar around my neck and then a second later, there is a harsh pull around my neck and I am forced to my feet. "Is that a leash around my neck, you sick fuck? Like I said before, I'm not your dog!" All Lotor does is laugh as we begin walking. I hear footsteps all around us as we exit the room. We walk for a while. I try and memorize the turns we are taking. Left, right, left, left, through a door, another right, down some stairs, which Lotor didn't warn me of, through one more door then we stop. The footsteps can no longer be heard. I hear a lock of a door and then Lotor sits me down at another chair, but unlike the other one, this one is reclined. The cuffs come off my hands but before I could move them, Lotor ties down my arms to the arm rest on this chair. 

"Alright, Lance, like I have mentioned before, I am willing to do anything to get this information out of you. I am going to try a different method that I haven't used on other prisoners. Consider yourself lucky." Lotor removes my blindfold and I'm met with another dimly lit room, but unlike the last room, I can see what's here. Chains, cages, whips, and all sorts of torturing devices can be found in this room. This could only mean two things. A: this is a torture room or B: this is a sex dungeon and I'm praying to god that it's the first option. "You know, Lance, so many prisoners have been captured, but none of them can compare to you. You are much more pleasing to look at then those other monsters and that makes me even more excited to try out this method." He forces my legs apart and straps them down. This is giving off the second option vibe. 

Lotor leans in and whispers in my ear. "The more you resist, the more you will be punished." And with that he smashed his lip onto mine and forced his tongue through my teeth and into my mouth. I gasped as he started chocking me with one hand and roaming my bare chest with the other. That was my first kiss. He stole my first kiss. I was saving that for the perfect moment, for the perfect person. I feel tears pricking at my eyes. Lotor's hand finds my left nipple and his squeezes it harshly. In instinct, I bit down and and bit Lotor's tongue. Without hesitation, Lotor releases me and slaps me. Hard. 

"Don't you ever do that again!" Lotor yelled at me. He then roughly pulled my pants down. This can't be happening. Please, tell me this is just a bad dream. Lotor went to the left of the room and came back with multiple items. He sets them down except one. I can't see what it is. He gets close to me again and then gags me.

"I thought I would be able to take things slow, but it seems like you don't deserve that." He was taking my underwear while saying that. No, I'm not having this. I resist and try to move away from his hand on my boxers. This earned me another slap just as hard as the last. My underwear then come off and the cold air hits my dick. "Lets see. What will I use first?" Lotor said as he went through the pile of stuff he brought over. He picked up a small ring and looked over to me.

"We should put this on before anything else." He came close and lifted my dick up. I flinched at the touch. Lotor pushed the ring down my member until it's at the base. "Now that that's on, we can start off with this." Lotor then brings a penis shaped tube with a pump on it over. He places it over my cock and starts pumping. The air gets sucked out of it as it squeezes my dick. I start getting hard even though I don't want to. He keeps pumping and pumping until I'm fully erect. "Okay, Lance, I'll see you in an hour. Be good, my sweet puppy." And with that Lotor left the room.

By the end of the hour, I thought my dick was going to fall off. The pressure of this thing is driving me crazy. I hate that it feels good. It shouldn't. He's messing with my brain, making me feel pleasure so I forget the pain. I need to get out of here. "Let's see how you're doing, puppy," Lotor says as he enters the room. He comes over to me and looks down at my exposed body. "My, you seemed to have gotten bigger. Anyways, lets get rid of this thing and move on." Lotor releases the pump and air fills up around my dick. I sigh against the gag in my mouth. "Lets do something a little more fun, shall we?" Lotor then holds up what seems to be some weird alien dildo. Without hesitation, he sticks the tip into me without prepping or using lube. I gasped. He sticks it in farther and I start crying from the pain. Once it's all the way in, he doesn't give me time to adjust before he pulls it back out and slams it in to me. I moan when the tip hits my prostate, but the pain is still surreal. After a few thrust, I hear a click and the toy starts vibration. I moan again, but it's hard to be heard. Pleasure never overcame the pain. My erection never going down until Lotor removed the ring and I came. Lotor slaps me. "I didn't say you could cum!" He removes the dildo and starts to unstrap me. Once everything is off, he forcefully lifts me up, but I fall to my knees in pain. Lotor takes the nearest whip and whips me on the back.

"Get up, you disgusting pig!" I couldn't stand. He whips me again. "Did I stutter!?" With that I used all my remaining strength the get up. Lotor still haves a strong grip on my wrist as he drags me to the wall. He chains my wrist and ankles to the wall. "You are a disgusting piece of filth who deserves everything that is coming to you!" Lotor screams then leaves the room. Here I am, naked and chained to a wall, now basically Lotor's sex slave. I can't believe this is happening. Why is this happening to me? ' _You deserve everything this is coming to you!_ ' Lotor's words rang through my head. Maybe he is right. Maybe I do deserve what is coming to me.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Three months have passed. I've become so fragile. My body is now just skin and bones. I only eat once a day and when I do it's barely anything. Everyday Lotor comes in and tries to get information out of me, and every time I say the same thing. "Fuck you." I may be worthless but my friends aren't and I'm not going to let him hurt them. _Keith_. I have the same nightmare every night. I'm sitting at the top of the cliff with Keith and every night Keith gets murdered. What does it mean? Is Keith really in trouble? Is there no one to save him. Everyday, Lotor tortures me. Physically, mentally, and sexually and the only thing giving me strength is the thought of Keith needing me. The thought that I need to save Keith from his untimely death, but Lotor has done so much to me that it's hard to keep that in mind. He stole my virginity. Something I was keeping for the person I decided to spend the rest of my life with. He took so much from me. My body, my mind, my dignity. At this point, I've lost every ounce of hope in ever escaping or ever being found.

  
Lotor is currently trying to get my wrist strapped to chains on the ceiling. I can't concentrate on what he's saying though. My eyes start drifting as I feel lightheaded. It gets worse and worse. Is this it? Is this how I die? My thought were interrupted by a huge explosion. I flinched at the loud sound. I tried my best to hear what was going on. People are screaming.

"We're under attack!"

"Everyone at your battle stations!"

"It's Voltron!"

My heart almost stopped when I heard that because it was followed by the rawrs of the Lions. Lotor cusses under his breath and rushes out of the room after he straps me in. They're here! They found me! I need to get out of here. I had a second wind and felt the most powerful I've ever felt. It seems Lotor didn't secure the strap on my left hand all the way. I managed to get it undone. I then got the rest off and looked around the room for stuff I could use in defense. I find a pair of clothes similar to the ones I wore the first day I was in here. I then pick up a knife Lotor had laying around me. I couldn't get the memories of Lotor torturing me with this thing out of my mind. _Focus Lance_. I put on the clothes, grab the knife, and run out of that room. I know if Lotor catches me, I'm as good as dead, but I'm willing to risk it. Every day for the last three months I repeated the pattern to get to the top floor in my head just for this moment. I did it. I'm at the door that will lead me to freedom. I can still hear the fight. They're still here.

I reach for the door handle, hand shaking in hopes that they will be as happy to see me as I will to see them. Before I could open the door, a hand landed on my shoulder. "Think you could run from me, huh puppy?" My heart sank. Lotor. No, this can't be happening. Lotor spun me around and punched me in the face. I hit my back on the door at the great force of his punch. Lotor was going in for another when I realized what I had to do. I stepped in and before Lotor's hand made contact with my face, and I stabbed him in the chest. Lotor's hand dropped as he looked down in shock. My breathe is uneasy. Lotor looked back up at me in anger, but then dropped to the ground. That was it. I can't believe it. He's dead. I killed him. The monster who tortured me in all ways possible. He shouldn't have gotten off that easy. I turn back to the door and take a deep breath. I open the door and the bright lights almost blinded me. Once I was adjusted I noticed on the other side of this room, my lion and at her feet, my friends. I restrained myself from screaming at them when I heard them talking. I snuck behind some equipment and got closer to hear better.

"So here she is." Hunk said.

"Took a while, but we finally found her." Pidge replied.

"I thought we would've defeated Zarkon before we found her." said Coran.

"No way we need Voltron to defeat Zarkon and that's why we need her. With the blue lion back, we can finally put Zarkon's rein to an end." Shiro said. Everyone agreed. But Blue needs her pilot to operate. Without me, she can never be piloted. How do they think they can defeat Zarkon without the Blue Paladin? "Think you got this, Allura?"

"I know I've got this, Shiro."

_Allura._

In her own pink Paladin uniform, Allura steps up. She looks up to Blue. "Blue Lion, please open up. I am your new Paladin."

No. Allura can't be Blue's Paladin. Me and Blue are connected. There's no way that would work. My heart shattered when Blue lit up and came to life. She brought her head down to Allura and allowed her into her cockpit. This can't be happening. All this time, they were just looking for was Blue. They didn't care about finding me. I'm replaceable. I don't matter to the team. Bad thoughts just kept coming and coming until I couldn't take it. I keep along the wall and run to an exit. On the way, I noticed something shining at me. I look to see my helmet. Wires were all over it as it seemed they were trying to listen to what the paladins were doing. I make sure no one is looking as I undo all the wires, grab my helmet and leave. I take one last look behind me.

"Goodbye." I whispered and I ran out into the unknown planet I will be living the rest of my life on. 


	2. Where Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We don't even know if he's alive. They could've killed him for all we know. The blood in that room. How much of it was Lance's?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KEITH"S POV YOOOO BUT THIS IS A SHORT CHAPTER IM SORRY

So, we found the blue lion. We all enter her cockpit, but it was empty. Lance wasn't with her. My heart sank when I realized this. The team was happy that we found blue like they didn't realize that her pilot was still missing. "He's not here." I say to myself. Shiro stops talking and looks over to me. "What was that, Keith?" he asked me. "I said he's not here!" I yelled. Everyone went silent as my voice echoed through the empty lion. My jaw clenched and my fists balled up. I hated that it seemed that everyone didn't even care. "I'm going back to the castle." I turn to leave, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Keith, we haven't check this Galra base. If Lance's lion is here then that means he has to be here, too." Shiro told me. "Yeah, and if he isn't, we won't stop looking for him." Pidge added. I let out a sigh and turned to face the other Paladins. "Okay, let's start looking ." I say with a small smile of Ever 

Every since Lance went missing, nothing was the same. The team was more quiet and distant. Lance always was the one to cheer everyone up. He would be the one to tell jokes to lighten up a tense situation. He was our Paladin. Our friend. _Friends, huh._ I didn't realized how much I valued that word until I met all the other Paladins, but Lance was a different story. We didn't get along at first. I actually despised him at first. When time went on, though, I could feel myself being drawn to him. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. I wished to get to know him more. To know everything about him and to see every side of him. I wanted to be more then just team mates. I've never felt this way before. I've never felt **_love_** before. I remember the day we all realized Lance was missing. After we all fell through the wormhole, Shiro and I luckily fell on the same planet. We managed to find our way to the castle and find the others, except Lance. He's location was never found. We couldn't contact him. He just _disappeared_. After the first two weeks, we suspected Lance was captured. I didn't want to believe it.

_"Lance could never get captured! He's just having a hard time finding his way home!" I kept raising my voice at Shiro._

_"Keith, it's been two weeks since we all got split up in the wormhole. All of us found our way back to the castle in no more then two days. Lance wouldn't stay off the grid like this unless something happened and the best case scenario for this situation is that he got captured."_

_I turned from Shiro and ran to my room, not wanting to accept the fact that Lance is nowhere to be found. I get under my covers and try to fight the urge to cry, but fail. I hear my door open. "Keith," "Not now Shiro!" I tell him, but he ignores me and sit at the end of my bed. "Keith, I know you're worried. We all are. Lance is a big part of this team. We need him. I know you're also scared and I am too. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am. I'm the leader of Voltron. I need to keep you guys safe, but I failed. Lance is probably captured by the Galra and being used to get information. Every ounce of me is hoping that that's not true and he's just being the dumbass he is and just flirting with everything that moves on his way here." That made me chuckle a bit. "The point is that no matter what, we will find Lance. Whether we go to him or he comes to us. He will come back to this team. And that's not a promise, it's a fact."_

_I sit up and look over to Shiro. "Thank you, Shiro. That means a lot to me that you said that."_

_"No problem, Keith. I do need you to promise me something, though."_

_"What is it?"_

_"When Lance comes back," He paused then smacked me on top of the head. "Tell that boy your feeling!! I can't stand seeing you guys pinning over each other!!"_

_"Us pinning?! What about you and Allura!? You're like a dog panting over a bag of treats!" I said. "This isn't about me!" Shiro explained. "Still!!" "Listen, if you tell Lance your feelings then, I'll tell Allura mine." Shiro said. "Okay, I will!" I exclaimed. "Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

_"This isn't about me!" Shiro explained. "Still!!" "Listen, if you tell Lance your feelings then, I'll tell Allura mine." Shiro said. "Okay, I will!" I exclaimed. "Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

_"Still!!" "Listen, if you tell Lance your feelings then, I'll tell Allura mine." Shiro said. "Okay, I will!" I exclaimed. "Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

_"Listen, if you tell Lance your feelings then, I'll tell Allura mine." Shiro said. "Okay, I will!" I exclaimed. "Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

_"Okay, I will!" I exclaimed. "Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

_"Okay then so will I!" and with that Shiro left my room._

As time went on, our hope that Lance was just having a hard time finding his way home faded. After a month, everyone accepted the fact that he was most likely captured, but it took me almost two months to accept it. We spent all of our time trying to find Lance and Blue. We asked everyone we knew for help. We did anything we could to find information of their whereabouts. One day, we got intel from a Galra soldier on our side that the Blue Lion was going to be brought to Zarkon in the upcoming days. We got the location on the lion and set out to find her and Lance and now, here we are. We have the lion, but not Lance. 

We all get out of Blue and started our search for Lance. Hunk and I teamed up. The first door we opened, we found a Galra trying to escaped. He seemed to already be injured, but he made it to an escape pod before we could reach him. There was nothing we could do so we just let him go. We'll get another chance, but right now we need to focus on finding Lance.

Every door we went through had nothing. Led nowhere. There was only one door left at the bottom of a staircase. We were shocked when we opened it. "Dude is this a sex dungeon?!" Hunk said in disgust. "It seems like it. Come on, lets seem if we can find Lance or something that will lead us to him." I said. Hunk was hesitate at first, but stepped in the room. This place was disturbing. All this weird alien sex stuff was just... well, weird and not only that but there was blood on the floor and chairs. It was just creepy. Something caught my eye, though. Near the wall next to some chains, there was blood, but unlike the rest, this was fresh. Like someone had just bled in this spot. "Um, Keith, I found something." Hunk tells me. I look over to him and see what he's holding. My heart sank to my stomach. The Blue Paladin uniform. _Lance's uniform_. We run back and find the others. Even though we found his uniform no one was able to find the Paladin. "He is here! He has to be!" I tell Shiro while raising my voice. "Keith... We looked everywhere. He's not here." Shiro said. Everyone looks like they're about to cry. "NO! He's here! He's uniform wouldn't be here if he wasn't!!" I couldn't take it and I ran to my lion. "Keith!" Shiro yelled at me. I ignored him and entered my lion and flew back to the castle.

Once I got to the castle, I went to the training deck. I turned on the simulators and began taking my anger out on them. One after the other, I just couldn't stop. All these built up emotions from the pass three months came flooding out. Rage and sadness just formed into my training. I kept picturing me killing the Galras that harmed Lance, or killed him. We don't even know if he's alive. They could've killed him for all we know. The blood in that room. **_How much of it was Lance's?_**   My rage keeps increasing as more simulators came out. I kept going and going. Not being able to get all the anger out of my body. "Keith." I heard. _Lance?_ I drop my sword and look behind me, hoping to see that sun kissed skin, bright eyes, cocky smile, and beautiful body, but I don't see any of those things. I can't anymore. I body goes limp. The last thing I see is Shiro running after me.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_I don't know where I am. This place seems so familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. I just keep walking and walking until I see something in the distance. My old home. The one is the desert. I run to it. I open the door in hopes that I will see the home I was so familiar with, but I just ended up in the desert again. What is happening? I look back and my home is gone. I see the mountains where we found the cave that lead us to the Blue Lion. I walk there. I see something out the corner of my eye. I look over and see someone running._

_Lance._

_I immediately start running after him. "Lance!" He doesn't hear me and continues to run. After a while, he comes to a stop at a cliff. The wind blows his iconic green jacket back as he turns around and faces me. I stop about twenty feet in front of him. He looks at me and smiles. "Lance..." I whisper as tears comes to my eyes. He puts his arms out like he was asking for a hug, so I start walking to him. Before I could reach him, he begins to fall backward off the cliff. "No.." I run to him in hopes I could reach him, but I couldn't. "NO!" I look over the cliff to see if this actually just happened. It did. "LANCE!!"_

I open my eyes and gasp in fear. My breath unsteady and rapid. I feel the tears on my cheeks. "Keith, are you okay?" I look over to see Shiro. I look at my surroundings as well. I'm in my room, in my bed, and Shiro is sitting in a chair next to my bed. "Keith?" I steady my breath some and answer. "Yeah, I-I just had a bad dream." "Do you want to talk about it?" Shiro asked as he put a hand on my shoulder in concern. I noticed that I'm wearing Lance's jacket. Shiro must have put it on me. He knows I wear to sleep ever since Lance was confirmed missing. "N-No. I'm fine." I tell him. "Keith, I'm worried about you. All you've done is train. You stopped eating, sleeping, and talking to everyone. I know that your'e taking this the hardest, but we can't lose hope. When Lance comes back, he wouldn't want to see what has happened to you." I just look down at my covers. "Well, I have some news to tell you." I look up at him. 

"You've been asleep for almost a day and during that time we found out something we didn't notice when we were at the base. We found Lance's uniform and Bayard, but we didn't find his helmet." "Okay and?" I interrupted. "That means there is a chance Lance escaped and took his helmet with him." "But why would he take just his helmet. If he could, wouldn't he've taken like his bayard. Why his helmet?" I interrupted yet again. "We don't know that, but Coran suspects that maybe he took it in hopes that he could contact us. If that's true and he did escape with his helmet, once we get blue running again, we could track him." Shiro finished with a small smile. I can't believe it. "How long till Blue is running?" I asked as I stood up in excitement. "We don't know yet. Pidge and Hunk said that she's badly damaged and it seemed the Galra were trying to change her to be on the their side like how they changed the castle. She's corrupted right now. We don't know how long it could take to get her back to normal." Shiro explained. "Oh." I said as I sat back down. "But this is still great news. We have a lead." I smile as he said that. "Rest up Keith. I'll bring you some food." "Thanks, Shiro." When Shiro left the room, I went to my closet and pulled out my helmet. I sat back on to my bed and turned it on. If Coran is right and there is a chance Lance could contact us, I don't want to miss his message. I want to be the first voice he hears.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A month has passed since we found Blue. Pidge and Hunk are having a very difficult time fixing Blue. She keeps rejecting their help. The technology the Galra imprinted in her has even Coran and Allura stumped, but they are fixing her. It's just slow, and my patience is running thin. I never turn off my helmet. I just hope that I finally hear Lance's voice. I stay up all night not wanting to miss anything. Shiro has been getting onto for that. I just want to hear Lance's voice. The lack of sleep has been getting to me. It's effecting my performance in battle and it's bad. Shiro had to take my helmet away when we aren't in battle just so I could get sleep, but I still couldn't sleep. The worry of missing a message of Lance is eating me alive. It took me a while, but I found out where Shiro was hiding my helmet. I then began to sneak off and get it, but returned it before anyone woke up. 

Tonight, the routine was the same. Once I got my helmet, I went to my room and turned it on, though something was different. There wasn't silence like always. I heard _humming_. For the first time in a month, I didn't hear silence, but was it Lance that was humming or was it just weird feedback? I jumped out of bed and ran to my Lion. She came to life when I entered her. If we can track Lance through the Blue Lion, is it possible to track him through the other lions? I tried everything I could think of, but nothing was working. I sighed in defeat and was about to leave until an alarm went off. I look over to see a map pull up and there is a blue dot on the screen on the same planet we found the Blue Lion. No way. Lance. _It's Lance_. I pick up my helmet to hear that the humming has turned into soft singing. The voice raspy and quiet that its hard to make out the words. My throat is dry and my heart is beating rapidly. "L-Lance?" I say in almost a whisper. The singing stops. "Keith?" the voice is also quiet. **_It is Lance._**  

"LANCE!" he didn't reply. "LANCE! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I can hear his breathing get heavier but still no reply. "LANCE PLEASE RESPOND!"

"H-hah... I'm okay." I hear.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Please, tell everyone I'm sorry..."

"LANCE!!"

"Tell everyone I love them..."

"LANCE PLEASE ANSWER ME!!!"

"Promise me you won't come looking for me." and with that the familiar silence filled the air. He disconnected.

"Lance... As if I could leave you alone like that..." I look at the dot that remained on the screen. **_"I'm going to find you, Lance."_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SORRY THIS WAS SHORT. next chapter will be out in the upcoming days though so dont worry also the end part is from an fan art piece made by burittossinning CHECK THEM OUT YO also check out my memetacular voltron instagram page @FUCKVOLTRON LOVE YOU ALL AND SEE YOU GUYS SOON ;3


	3. I'm Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just keep running, never letting go of Lance's hand. I'm never letting go of his hand. The adrenaline is pumping through me as I run around the trees making sure we don't hit one. I can feel myself going faster and faster. It wasn't until the sudden absence of heat on my hand and a thud slowed me down.

_"L-Lance_?"

His voice still rang through my head. The soft, melodic voice that I wanted to hear for so long. I stop walking and stare down at the ground, not being able to believe Keith actually spoke to me. I've been out here for so long and just out of nowhere I get connected to the one person I yearn to see the most, but I can't let him find me. Not now. Not ever. No matter how much I miss all of them, I can never go back. After what Lotor did to me and the never-ending pain of knowing I'm not good enough, I accepted the fact that the team is better without me. They deserve someone who is stronger, more determined, _happier_ than me.

After trying everything I could to get Keith's heart aching voice out of my head and eventually failing, I continued my walk back to my 'home'. I reach the entrance to the cave that I found the first day I crashed into this planet. This is where I have been living ever since my escape from the Galra. It took me a while to find it again, but I managed to locate it.

Finding food was the most difficult thing. Every animal-like creature I ate ended up making me sick. I ended up deciding to return to the Galra base in hopes that I can salvage some food from there. Luckily, I was able to find plenty of food, but not enough to last me very long. Six months at the most, really. Because of that, I only eat a small portion of food once a day. I've become just skin and bones at this point, but I'm getting by. I accepted the fact that once my food runs out, I'll die. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm better off dead anyways.

I sit down in my spot of the cave where I have deemed my own and begin to eat my ration of food for the day. " _WHERE ARE YOU?_ " I still can't stop hearing that voice. I need to forget that ever happened. I feel like crying, but I can't cry. My body won't let me. There is nothing I can do except sit here and wait for my untimely death to reach me.

 

 

*Keith's Point Of View* 

 

 

I didn't tell anyone about my accidental contact with Lance. I didn't want them knowing what he said.

' _Promise me you won't come looking for me._ '

That sentence still rang through my head. Why would he not want us to look for him? He's a Paladin, a friend. _Family_. He belongs here, not out on a foreign planet. Did he not want to come home? Does he not want to be a Paladin anymore? Does he not like us anymore? Even though he told me not to go looking for him, there's no way I can't. Lance needs to come back. He belongs here. We aren't a team without him. I'm not myself without him. No one is. Last night, I wrote down the coordinates of the planet Lance is on. Now, I have to just wait for the right moment to go there by myself and rescue him. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It's been three days and not a moment has passed that allowed me to be separated from the team long enough that I can get Lance. Every time I try, something always comes up. Even at night, Allura has been doing night training and emergency drills and I can never find the right time to leave. This is frustrating me. Lance is all alone on a planet that none of us are familiar with and it scares me. I can't stop thinking something bad will happen to him if I don't help him. Today during lion training, an alarm went off. 

"Everyone, back to the castle immediately!" Allura calls out through the intercoms. 

Everyone gets back and we all gather around Allura, waiting for her to tell us the emergency. 

"We just received a distress beacon from another planet. Galra have invaded their capital city and are planning on taking over the planet. We traced the beacon back to a planet we visited about a month ago."

 _ **Please don't tell me**_.

Allura pulled up the galaxy map and showed where the distress beacon was coming from. 

**_No..._ **

"You all may recall this planet as the one where we found the blue lion at."

"NO!" I yelled and started running to my lion. Lance is in danger. I can't lose him. "Keith!" I hear Shiro call out to me but I ignore him and continue to make my way to my lion. I can hear the distant footsteps of someone following me, but I ignore everything. At this moment, Lance is all I can think of. 

I already have my suit on, so I rush over to Red and she lets me into her cockpit. I don't even think about my safety as I quickly activate my lion, punch in the coordinates, and take off. Red can sense my fear and goes as fast as she can to the planet where Lance awaits. I still have no idea where I'm going to find him. _Think, Keith_. Okay, we found the blue lion at a Galra base in the middle of the forest. The citizens must not have know the base was there or they would have reported it before. So, the city must be far enough away from the base that people won't notice it's even there. If Lance was captured, there is a chance that he might still be in the forest where the base was at. So, that's where I'm going to start. I will go back to the Galra base, and work out from there. Somewhere on that planet, Lance is suffering and I'm going to put an end to it. _I'm going to save Lance_. 

Before I knew it, the planet was in sight. Galra ships can be seen from above. I need to land on the planet without being seen by them. Red seems to remember where the base is and as I suspected, it is very far from any civilization. We managed to somehow not get caught and land on a deserted beach next to the forest the base is in. I step out of my lion and take a look around. A few trees at the edge of the forest seem to be knocked down and growing grass and plants over the fallen logs. Something must have happened there. 

 _"Are you sure you will be alright on your own? This is a planet you are not familiar with."_ Red said to me. 

"Yes, I'm sure. If I need your help, I'll call for you." I replied and I made my way to find Lance. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A few hours have passed and still no sign of Lance. This is taking too long. I need to find him, now. He could be hurt, _or worse._ I try my hardest to keep those thoughts out of my mind, but sometimes they get the best of me. I need to concentrate on finding Lance. I pass by a set of mountains. A cave can be seen from my point of view and I decide to check it out. Overall, it seemed empty, except for one spot. There were empty packets of some weird alien food just lying around everywhere. Just in that one spot, though. Could this be Lance's? If it is, then that means Lance is nearby! He has to be! My heart starts beating fast as I run out of the cave as fast as I can. "Lance!" I call out from the mountains. "Lance!" No one replied. I jetpack down and keep running and screaming his name. I just kept going and going until I heard a little beeping noise coming from my wrist. A map popped up on the screen on my arm. There showed a red dot and a blue dot. The red dot was where I stood and the blue dot was in the location of the Galra base. "Lance." I whisper to myself. He still has his helmet on him. I begin running as fast as I can to the blue dot on the screen. It was a while away, but I didn't care. All I cared about was getting my Lance, I-I mean, our Lance back. I kept running and running. The blue dot getting closer and closer to the red one with every step. I'm almost there Lance. Just hold on. 

After what feels like an eternity of running, I made it to the base, but I stopped when I noticed a Galra ship there. It seems to be only one, but still, Lance could be in trouble. He's definitely in there. No doubt about it. I sneak into the base and get to the control room where we found the blue lion. I look around and notice five Galra walking around the place. I hide behind some machinery and listen in on their conversation. 

"Sir, do you really believe he is still here?" One said. 

"Yes, sir, it is possible that he could have escaped. You did say he got out of the room." Said another. 

"Nonsense, that bitch could never survive out by himself. Not after the state I left him in. He was barely hanging onto life when the attack happened. I'm surprised he even survived going up the stairs." Said the one in the middle.  _That Galra_. He looked so familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen him before. He looks similar to Haggar. Pure white, long hair, skinny figure. Wait. The day we found blue, a Galra escape before me and Hunk could get to him. That's it! That's him! That's the Galra who escaped! He seemed to have recovered because when I last saw him he had a wound on his chest. 

"Prince Lotor, have you considered the thought that maybe the Paladins found him and rescued him?" 

_Are they talking about Lance?_

"We would have known if he returned to the other Paladins. Zarkon has been keeping a close eye on them and it seems that damn princess is piloting the blue lion and not that bitch." Lotor said. 

"Sir, if I may ask, why are you so persistent on finding the Blue Paladin?"

_They are talking about Lance._

"He will no longer be a Paladin. I will find him and make him pay for what he did to me. He will never live to see those filthy Paladins of Voltron ever again. So, start the search and don't stop until you find him." With that, the group of Galra separated. 

This is bad. With these Galra here, it will be extremely difficult to search for Lance. He's here, there's no doubt about it. They might reach him first. There's so much that could go wrong. I don't care, I will search this planet from top to bottom until I find him. No matter how long it takes, no matter what happens to me, I will bring Lance back. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

So far, I've been lucky enough to not run into any of the Galra here. I don't know how much longer my luck will last, but I'm hoping it will be long enough so that I can bring Lance home. I'm searching through one of the rooms near the control center when I hear screaming. 

"Let me go!"

"Sir, we found him." 

"I swear to fucking god! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!!"

 _Lance. **They found Lance**_. 

I run out of the room and get back to the control center and hide once again just to make sure it was actually Lance and not my imagination. I look over to the Galra to see a struggling Lance with them.

"Well, well, well. Hello, there my puppy." 

"YOU! I thought I killed you! What are you doing here!?" Lance yelled at the white-haired prince. 

"Here's a tip, make sure your enemy is dead before you leave them." Lotor said. 

 _Lance tried to kill him_?

Lotor notices Lance's helmet with him. "Awe, does the puppy miss his friends? Is he lonely? Maybe he wants to come back home with  _me_. Oh wait, he doesn't have a choice." He says in a mocking, high pitched tone. 

"What do you want from me!? I already told you I'm not going to tell you anything about Voltron or the Paladins!" Lance said.

"That's not the reason I came to you." Lotor stepped in towards Lance. "You crossed the line when you tried to kill me. Now, I'm going to make sure you suffer for it." He's hand taking Lance's chin and lifting his face up to meet his. It was then that I noticed has skinny Lance has gotten. His neck was thin, his eyes looked weak. He looked so _fragile_. My thoughts were interrupted by Lance's cries. 

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"Oh, can't I? You're my bitch and you always will be." 

That's it. I can't take this anymore. I can't take Lotor torturing Lance with his words. I can't take Lance's cries for mercy. I can't do it!  I activate my bayard and run towards the Galra holding Lance. With all the running I did already, I'm surprised my speed is still holding up. I kill both of the Galra holding Lance and before anyone else could even touch me, I grab Lance's hand and run out of there. 

"After them! Call for backup! Don't let them escape!" I can hear Lotor yell. 

I just keep running, never letting go of Lance's hand. _I'm never letting go of his hand_. The adrenaline is pumping through me as I run around the trees making sure we don't hit one. I can feel myself going faster and faster. It wasn't until the sudden absence of heat on my hand and a thud slowed me down. Lance let go of me. I turn around to see him face first on the ground. I kneel down to him. I turn him around and check for wounds. There doesn't seem to be any fresh ones, but there were many scars from previous ones. I put my ear to his chest. His heart is still beating. It's slow, but it's beating. He seems to be breathing too, but it's shallow. His body seemed to have just given out. I need to find a place we can hide. Unfortunately, it seems we were running in the opposite direction from Red and I can't get a hold of her. I lifted Lance up and carried him bridal style. There has to be someplace to hide. As if the gods were answering my prayers, a small cave, similar to the one where I'm sure Lance was living in, came up on the horizon. I ran as fast as I could there and once I reached I went as far in as I could and laid Lance down. I'm just hoping we lost the Galra. I take this time to actually take a look at Lance. His clothes were dirty and torn up. His hair slightly longer, but also dirty and greasy. Scars can be seen throughout his entire body and it made me wonder, how much pain and suffering did he actually go through. His body is so small. He's cheekbones stick out and his eyes are sunken in, making the eye sockets more visible. He looks so fragile. Like one little breeze will blow him away from me. I let my emotions get the best of me and I start crying. I just can't stop. I missed him so much. I can't believe he is really here in my arms. I feel like this is all a dream and I am going to wake up any second now. My tears fall on Lance's face. All the emotions I've kept in since Lance went missing just came rushing out of me. "Keith?" A quiet voice called out. I open my eyes to be met with Lance's looking up at me with confusion. Those once bright, ocean colored eyes, now dull and almost lifeless eyes stare back at me. I couldn't even speak. All I could do was pull Lance up towards me, and hug him. I could feel his body tense up. 

"I thought I told you not to come looking for me." He said, weakly.

"Like I was going to listen to you! You mean too much to us!  _To me!_ I could never lose you!" I held onto Lance a little tighter, not wanting to let go. 

"Keith, I can't- breathe." Lance said. I let go of him and look away in embarrassment. I don't know what got the best of me in that moment. "Sorry." I say. I can feel a slight heat rise to my face. The tears not yet completely stopping. I hear a light and airy laugh come from Lance. His hand comes up to my face and caresses my cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the remaining tears. "As much as I hate to admit it, I missed your stupid mullet." he said to me. I let out a weak smile and laugh. I lean my head into his hand just slightly, craving his touch to remind me that this is real. "I missed your dumb insults as well." I told him. He smiled. It was small but still lit my heart up some. 

"Keith? Keith, do you copy?" 

_It's Shiro._

"Shiro! Yes, I copy." I can't believe the signal is working in here of all places. It bad, but any signal is better than none.

"Why aren't you in your lion?" he asked.

"I'm with Lance."

"YOU'RE WITH LANCE?! WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! HOW DID YOU-" 

"Shiro, no time to explain. Galra are after us and Lance is in really bad shape. I can't get a hold of Red so please, bring her to us."

"Okay, Keith. I trust you. I'm on my way to you. Tell Lance to hang on a little longer. We're not that far from your location."

"Roger that. Hurry Shiro." I said and I brought my attention back to Lance.

"They're coming to get us. Hang in there, Lance."

"Keith, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it out of here." I felt tears come to my eyes again when he said that. "But if I do, will you marry me?" I couldn't believe what he said. In my state of delusion, I just started laughing. "Quite laughing. I'm being serious." he told me. "Is right now really the time to ask me that?" I asked. He just shrugged his shoulders. I laugh a little more, but the tears still come out of my eyes. "Sure, Lance, I'll marry you." I answered. He just smiled. A few minutes go by of silence when Lance's quiet voice spoke up again.

"I guess this is the second time, huh?" I was confused on what he meant. "Of you cradling me in your arms." 

My heartbeat quickened and my eyes lit up slightly. "Y-You remember?"

"Keith, we're almost there." Shiro's voice rang through the speakers on my helmet.

"Hehe...yeah..." Lance went quiet for a moment. "It's too bad...I won't...remember this..one..." _**No..**_

"Keith, do you copy?" Shiro's voice can be heard again.

"And I was...just..getting...used to it, too..." **_Lance_**. "...Sorry..." His eyes closed with that last word. Tears spilled out of my eyes like a faucet. ".....Idiot." I whispered. This can't be happening. Please,

".....Idiot." I whispered. This can't be happening. Please, someone, tell me this is just a bad dream!

"What's that..... You're cutting out..... Can't hear you..." the line went flat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza man this chapter took forever to come out I'm so sorry for the wait I decided to split this chapter into two so instead of four chapters there with be five whoop whoop holla chapter four will be out a lot sooner then this one was it's gonna be gud just wait my dude


	4. You Saved Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Come on. I want you to see this." He says and darts out of Red. My heart beat fails to slow down, but I race after him. All I can see is Keith. I'm not even paying attention to my surroundings. The only thing I can see is him.

With Lance's last words, his body went limp. His head falls back over my arm and my heart stops. "Lance.." I prop his head back up and look at his face. It's pale and lifeless. "Please, Lance." I lean down and touch my forehead to his. My tears fall onto his cheek. "Please, wake up.."

"KEITH!! LANCE!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I can hear someone yell from outside the cave.

"SHIRO!!!" I scream through the tears. I hear footsteps approaching me and stop in front of me. A small 'oh my god' escaped his mouth. I look up and meet Shiro's scared eyes. "WHAT DO I DO?" I asked.

"Keith, listen, there isn't much time. Red is outside. Go and contact Coran and tell him to open the wormhole. Get to the castle and get Lance into a healing pod. Hopefully, it's not too late." Shiro explained and not even a second later, I'm already in Red's cockpit. I leave her on autopilot since I still had Lance in my arms. I'm never letting him go. I contacted Coran immediately.

"Hel-"

"Coran, open the wormhole!" I interrupted.

"Keith, what is- "

"CORAN, NOW!!" I didn't want to yell but every second that goes by can change the outcome of the situation. I see the wormhole open in the distance and red speeds to it. We make it to the castle in no time. Once we get there, I immediately get out of red and run to the healing room.

"Coran I need you in the healing room now!" I say through the communicator.

"What is happening?"

"It's Lance."

Nothing else needed to be said. "On my way!" Coran said. I sprinted to the healing room and Coran was already there when the doors open. He already prepared a healing pod as well. I waste no time getting Lance into the pod. The pod closed and I'm standing there, staring at his broken body. My heart is beating so fast, I feel as if it might explode. Coran goes over to the pod and starts doing an analysis on him. I sit on the steps, impatiently bouncing my leg. What if I was too late? What if he doesn't make it. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. After what feels like decades, Coran walks over to me.

"Well, Keith, you got here right in the tick of time. Lance is going to be okay." He tells me.

I look up at him, my eyes still bloodshot, "R-Really?"

"Yes, Keith. We are very lucky to have him here. A few more dobashes and I don't think he would have made it." Coran sits next to me. "Thank you, Keith. You brought Lance back to us."

When he said that, I started crying. I could have saved him sooner. I knew where he was before we went on the mission, yet I didn't do anything. I could have killed him.

"Keith, what's wrong? This is a joyous moment. There's no need to cry." Coran tells me.

"C-Coran, I knew."

"What did you know?"

"I knew where Lance was."

"W-What?" Coran gasp.

"Around 3 days ago, I had my helmet on. Since you said he might have taken it with him, I hoped I could possibly contact him. One night while I was listening for some sign of him, I heard him humming and turns out it was Lance. With him now connected to the communicators, I could track him. I knew where he was, but I never said anything." The tears start falling and I begin to shake. "I thought I should've been the one to save him," I put my head in my hands "but I ended up almost killing him." I'm a complete mess at this point. "It's all my fault, Coran. It's all my fault." I continue to cry as a pair of arms wrap around me. I look up to see Coran.

"Keith, I'm not that good at comforting humans, but I feel like it would be the same as comforting an Altean child. It's okay, Keith. Lance is safe now. There is nothing to worry about anymore." He hugs me harder and as much as I hate hugs, I give into him. I hug him back as my tears stain his shirt. "You remind me of my son that I lost." He says. I look up to see tears in his eyes as well. Before I could say anything, the door opens. The rest of the team runs in. Their faces drop when they see Coran and I crying. Hunk starts crying as well.

"N-No... Don't tell m-me..." he says quietly through his tears.

"Coran is Lance.." Allura hesitated.

Coran stands up, "Paladins, Lance is going to be okay." He ends his sentence with a soft smile. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and starts cheering knowing their beloved friend is going to live.

"How long until he is back to his normal health and ready to get out of his pod?" Pidge asked.

"I actually don't know. This reader won't give me a specific time. It could be a few Varga, quintents, or even a few decafebes for all I know. We just have to wait and see." Coran replied. The mood went down a little after that, but everyone was still happy to have Lance back, but I couldn't wait. I needed to talk to him. I need to apologize to him.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Roughly 20 days have passed since Lance's return. He looks healthier and healthier every day. Once he got to a stable condition, we changed him into the clothes meant for the healing pod. I spent most of that time in front of Lance's pod, waiting for him to come out. I stopped going to the training deck and starting doing small exercises in the healing room. I stopped eating at the dinner table and started eating with Lance. I used the sleep in the healing room, but Shiro didn't approve and started making me go my room. I would wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and whenever I do, I made sure I checked up on Lance. Lucky, we haven't had any huge problems with Zarkon. We've had a few distress signals over these days but nothing needing Voltron.

Right now, I'm in the healing room, doing some exercises when an alarm starts beeping. At first, I thought it was Allura calling for an emergency, but there were no flashing lights, so it couldn't be her. I look over and see that it's Lance's pod making that noise. I began to panic. I didn't know what that noise meant. Was something wrong with the pod? Was he dying? I began panicking more from that thought until Lance's pod finally opened. I look up and see Lance's eyes open and look around. I see those ocean colored eyes for the first time in almost a month, and I feel something wet roll down my face. I'm crying. I'm actually crying. Lance's eyes focus on where he is and then he looks down at me.

"K-Keith?" his voice is quiet and raspy. Before I could speak, the door opened. Everyone came rushing in and you can hear Hunk scream 'LANCE!'. Lance flinched at the sudden volume and Hunk quietly apologizes. Coran comes next to me and begins asking some questions to Lance. I step aside. Shiro comes and stands next to me and gets a worried look on his face. "Keith, are you crying?" I didn't realize the tears haven't stopped until he said that. I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I didn't want Lance to see me like this. I run out of the room and I can hear Shiro call my name. I didn't want to be in there. I still feel so guilty for not telling anyone about Lance. I can't face them or Lance. I feel my heart race and my body shake. I didn't want to be here. I needed to breathe but I felt like I couldn't. I needed space. I decided to take that literally hoping it would soothe my nerves. I get to Red's hangar and board her. Maybe some time from the castle will help me. I leave to castle in Red and exit the atmosphere of the planet we are currently staying at. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where to go. I sense Red trying to communicate with me. She wants to take me somewhere. I let her go on autopilot as I curl up in the pilot's seat. I bring my legs to my chest and wrap my arms around them, setting my forehead on my knees. I haven't told the rest of the team about what I knew. Even after we got Lance back, I only ever told Coran. Now that Lance is out of the pod, I need to apologize, but I don't know how. I also need to come clean to everyone else. I'm just scared that they would be mad at me. I'm scared that they would kick me out of Voltron. I'm scared to be alone again. My thoughts are interrupted by Red landing on a planet. She begins talking to me.

_'I can sense that you are in distress, my Paladin. I would like you to explore this planet. The atmosphere is breathable for humans, the planet is mostly fresh water, it is inhabited, and the nights are quite intriguing. I feel as this peaceful planet would put your mind at ease, at least for a moment.'_

Red lowers her head and lets me out. I thank her and do as she says. Maybe she is right. Maybe this would ease my thoughts. It is around evening time and the sun is beginning to set. Red landed on a beach and I look around at the water that surrounds me. The water is a beautiful shade of pink and the sand is a mixture of honey and brown. I walk around until the sun completely sets and night surrounds the planet. At first, it seemed like any other night, just darkness all around, until I looked up at the sky. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. It looked like it came right out of a painting. The stars in the sky were the brightest I've ever seen. They were everywhere. Purple, blue, and red were splashed all around. The moon was shining bright and the waves of the water were so soothing. I look at the water and notice something remarkable. It was glowing. Aside from the beautiful pink tones, there were super bright, neon green specks floating all around the water, washing up on shore and lighting up the beach. I looked around and took it all in. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I know what to do.

I get back into Red and get back to the castle as fast as I can. I spent a while on that planet. Quite a few hours I would say. When I get back to the castle, everyone is already fast asleep. This is the perfect opportunity and I take it. I dash to Lance's room, expecting to find him awake, but instead, I see him sitting up on in his bed.

 

  
*Lance's Point of View*

 

  
I couldn't sleep. Keith has been gone too long. I'm debating whether or not to go back to the hanger and just wait for him there. Shiro said I should rest up, but I need to make sure Keith is back safe. I haven't even changed into my pajamas. I feel like if I do, I might fall asleep and I don't want that to happen. Why did Keith run out when I came out of the pod? Did he not want to see me. I wouldn't want to see me either. Did he have something better to do? Of course, he did. Did he- my thoughts were interrupted by my door opening. At first I thought it was Shiro checking up on me, but instead, I find Keith at my doorway. I swing my legs over the edge of my bed.

"Keith, why are you- agh!" My sentence was interrupted my Keith grabbing my wrist and immediately beginning to run. "Keith, what are you doing?" I say through my breathes. He didn't answer. He just kept running until we reached the Red Lion's hanger. Red activates and Keith lets me go as we wait for her to let us enter.

"I want to show you something." Keith tells me. A little smile appears on his face and that makes my heart beat run rapidly. Red lets us in, but there's a problem: there is only one seat. This is Keith's lion and he needs to pilot, so I insisted on him taking it.

"No, it's okay. You can have it. Red knows where to go she is fine on autopilot." He tells me and gives me the seat.

"So what about you, are you just going to sit on the floor then?" I laugh a little as I say that.

"I'll just.... stand here ?" He crossed his arms and looked out to see Red taking out. I laugh at the way he looked. He looked just like a typical angsty teen. As we were on our way to wherever (Keith won't tell me where) the ride became a little bumpy. There was a very small asteroid field that we had to go through. I asked Keith if he wants to pilot through it, but he insisted that Red could handle it. She could, but it was a very bumpy ride. Keith was staggering around trying to keep his balance. Towards the end of the field, Red accidentally hits an asteroid and it throw Keith off his feet and he almost hit the handles, but I managed to catch him before he hit them. The only problem now is that Keith is sitting on me and we are face to face. My face explodes and I immediately look away. Luckily, Red stabilized quickly and Keith was back on his feet soon after that. A few more minutes pass and Red finally lands. We are on some planet that I don't recognize. Keith looks at me and smiles.

"Come on. I want you to see this." He says and darts out of Red. My heart beat fails to slow down, but I race after him. All I can see is Keith. I'm not even paying attention to my surroundings. The only thing I can see is him. His black hair flowing in the wind and the way his body moves as he runs. I didn't realize he stopped running until I run into him at full speed, knocking us both to the ground. I landed on my stomach. My eyes shut hard when we impacted due to my brain still being a little foggy from the healing pod. The ground felt weird to me, but my eyes remained shut. I put my hands on the ground and push up leaving me just on my hands and knees. I bring my left hand up to rub the slight headache that came to me and I finally open my eyes. Now I know why the ground felt weird. It's because I landed on top of Keith. The first thing I see is a pair of deep purple eyes wide open and staring back at me. I got lost in his eyes for a moment. The moonlight shone on his fair skin which was accented by strains of black hair and rosey cheeks. He looked absolutely beautiful. We both kind of stayed there for a moment until I realized what was happening and I immediately stood up.

"S-Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention on where I was going." I stuttered and looked away to hide my embarrassment. I heard him laugh slightly and that make my face turn even more red. What is happening to me?

"It's okay, Lance." He says and I finally look back at him. I'm met with a soft smile and it made me feel... safe. I face Keith and give him an equally soft smile.

"So, what is it you wanted to show me?" I asked.

Keith laughed again. Why is he laughing so much and why is so so adorable. "Lance, look around you." He tells me and that's when I finally look at the view. It was breathe taking. This is incredible. Keith sits down on the sand and I decide to take a seat next to him. We stare up into the sky.

"I know this is no Veradaro Beach. I know this is no earth, but I still wanted to show you this." He went silent for a moment. "Lance... I'm sorry."

I bring my full attention to him. "Sorry? For what?"

"I didn't tell the team I knew where you were. I waited until it was almost too late." I see a tear go down his cheek. Seeing him cry broke my heart. "You could have died and it would have been all my fault." That's it. I can't stand to see him cry. Without even thinking, I turn him to me and quickly wrap my arms around him.

"Keith, it's okay. I forgive you. You don't need to cry. I'm here." I hear a sob leave Keith and then he wraps his arms around my torso and holds me tight. He lets out a few more crys and I comfort him. I rub his back and hum to him as his tears run onto my shoulder. I want to cheer him up. I let go of him and quickly start taking off my shoes.

"W-What are you doing." Keith asked me. Tears stained on his cheeks. I need to cheer him up.

"Let's go for a swim." I tell him.

"But we didn't bring swim suits." He said. I stood up and took off my shirt.

"Don't need one." Finally, as embarrassed as I was, I took off my pants. Leaving me in just my boxers. Before I could let Keith see my red face, I jump into the water. It feels like home to me. It brings back memories. I surface and shake the water out of my face. I ran my hand through my hair and looked over at Keith, who was still sitting down.

"Come on, Keith! The water great!" I tell him.

"I don't know if this is a good idea."

I swim towards the shore. "Keith, do I need to pull you in here?"

"All I'm saying, Lance, is that we don't know if this water is safe."

I sighed. "Okaaaay." I get back to the shore and Keith stood back up. "You asked for it!" I yelled as I grabbed Keith and tossed him over my shoulder.

"LANCE, PUT ME DOWN!" He yelled and he hit my back and shook his legs.

"Either you voluntarily join me, or I force you in." I tell him.

"OKAY FINE, I'LL GET IN! JUST PUT ME DOWN!" And with that I set him back onto the sand. He kept his word and began to take off his shoes. He was about to take off his shirt until he stopped.

"Um, Lance, can you turn around, please?" He asked me.

"Yeah, okay." I say, but I'm confused. I'm gonna see him shirtless anyways. Why would he want me to turn around? As curious as I am, I obliged to his command.

"Okay, you can turn around now." He tells me. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Keith stood there in his boxers, but what caught my attention was the scar that traced his chest. I walk over to him. I know I shouldn't ask, but curiosity took over me.

"What happened?" It was like he expected me to ask because he was not surprised of me asking and responded quickly.

"After I got kicked out of the Garrison, I went to the city looking for a job. During that time, I started meeting new people. I actually made friends. After a while, I began dating this one person. I was in love with them. I would do anything for them, but they didn't think the same about me. It was a very, very toxic relationship. They pushed me about and treated me like trash, but I still stayed. Once I realized that I wanted to leave the relationship, they wouldn't let me. We got into a fight, and it ended with me getting this scar." He looked like he was going to cry again. I shouldn't have asked. He took a deep breathe and continued. "He tried to kill me and every day I'm remind of what he did to me. The mental and physical scars have kept me from ever opening up to anyone, but I trust you. I trust that that won't happen again." He looked up at me, waiting for a response.

 _He?_ Keith said he. That not important right now though. What's important is showing Keith that I care about him. I quickly wrapped my arms around his bare chest and pull him close.

"Don't worry, Keith, I'll make sure that never happens again. I promise." I tell him. I can feel him smile against my skin. I take this as a great opportunity and I lift him up, yet again.

"LAANCE!!" He tries to wiggle out of my grasp, but it is no use. I run into the water and dunk both of us under. I release Keith underwater and a moment later, I popped my head out of the water. I expected to see a pissed of Keith, but there was no one there. I turned around, but was met with a shove down into the water. I surfaced and see Keith in a laughing fit. I was star struck when I saw him. His smile was absolutely stunning. I've never seen him smile like that before. I find myself being drawn to him. Inching closer and closer. 

"Lance?" I didn't realize how close I've gotten until Keith said my name. 

His dark colored eyes meet my graze. The stars shone in his wide eyes, pulling me in closer, until I'm chest to chest with him. Keith hasn't said a word. My body moves without thinking. My hand comes up from underneath the water and moves a piece of Keith's hair that stuck down onto his forehead, so that I can see ever inch of his beautiful face. His eyes, his nose, his cheeks, _his lips_. God, those perfect lips. My heart is racing. I know what I'm about to do is stupid, and can ruin our friendship, but I don't care. This moment is too perfect and I can't waste this opportunity. My hand cups his cheek ever so slightly. Our eyes never looking away from each other as I keep leaning in closer and closer until our noses brush each other. He hasn't moved away from my touch. I take that as a good sign as I close the gap between us and push my lips onto his. 

 

*Keith's point of view*

 

Is this really happening? Please don't tell me this is a dream. Lance is _kissing me_ right now. I can't believe it. _This is actually happening._ I always felt something when it came to Lance. Even with our rivalry, I felt like I wanted to be around him as much as possible. I never understood what that feeling meant, but at this moment, I understood that feeling. It was love. I never wanted Lance's soft lips to leave mine. I push my lips into the kiss to show him that I accept and return his feelings. When I did that, Lance wrapped his strong arms around my body and pulls me in even closer. Although I never wanted that moment to end, we pulled apart our lips, but Lance's arms stayed wrapped around me. We stare into each others eyes for a second. I never realized how much I loved those dumb blue eyes until they were staring down at me at this moment. The green specks in the water made it look like the stars were caught in his eyes.

"Keith," he said.

"Yeah, Lance?" 

"Remember what I said when you rescued me, and we were in that cave waiting for Shiro?" he asked. I gave him a confused look, but then my face turned red when I remembered what happened. 

 

_"Keith, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it out of here." I felt tears come to my eyes again when he said that. "But if I do, will you marry me?" I couldn't believe what he said. In my state of delusion, I just started laughing. "Quite laughing. I'm being serious." he told me. "Is right now really the time to ask me that?" I asked. He just shrugged his shoulders. I laugh a little more, but the tears still come out of my eyes. "Sure, Lance, I'll marry you." I answered. He just smiled._

 

I was so delusional at that moment from everything that happened before hand, that I kinda forgot about him saying that. Now that he reminded me of it, I remember the whole thing. 

I nod my head, but didn't say a word. "W-Well, the offer still stands, if you would like." he said as he looked away and blushed furiously. I laugh slightly at the way he became so flustered and wrap my arms around his body, the once still water now moving around us. "Of course I'll marry you, you big idiot." His arms hugged me tighter and he lifts me up ever so slightly. He began to spin around with me still in his arms. Water splashing all around us. I hear him start to laugh adorably. I can't help but to laugh as well. Once he stops, I look up to see a huge smile on his face. In a matter of minutes, this idiot managed to completely steal my heart, and I couldn't be happier.


End file.
